Hot Times for Tubes

By: Jeff Falk

The business model, embracing the trend for alternative manufacturing locations and models, and its subsequent success, has, in turn, translated to cost savings for World Wide’s customers.

“In the States, if you build a custom tube or closure, the mold cost could exceed a million dollars, and add to the top of that (the cost of) huge, necessary machine modification,” says Hayet. “And the speed to market is probably nine months on molds. We’re building molds in 45 days, and at costs of only $10,000—$20,000 dollars per mold. And our qualities (good manufacturing processes and standard operating procedures) are up to U.S. standards—in Asia.”

The company has also developed proprietary technologies to address issues such as speed to market. Its in-line process has eliminated cap lead time (Hayet: “We’re not waiting for a cap to arrive in the building to finish a tube.”), eliminated loose cap problems and created a 100% guarantee of print registration, allowing the cap to register to the print copy so the thumb release always aligns with the front panel of the tube.

“The challenge on a one-piece tube is that the body’s extruded and the cap portion is injection-molded. Where (World Wide’s) patents lie is (in) our ability to fuse the tube sleeve to the cap,” says Hayet. “The second advantage is that we have the ability to print over the tube’s shoulder. In the tube industry, you usually have a 1/32-inch gap between the tube sleeve and the head. We can offset print that whole area.”

The devil is certainly in the details when positioning products for the beauty industry. Every inch of real estate on a tube sends a message about the brand and the product, and every aspect of a tube is an opportunity to set the product apart.